Automobile heating structure



Junefl, 1940. v E, POTTER. 2,202,920-

AUTOMOBILE HEATING STRUCTURE Filed neg. 2, 193s s sheets-sheet 1.`

June 4, 1940. E. L. POTTER AUTOMOBILE HEATING STRUCTURE Filed D-eo.

2, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 285er POTTER.

June 4, 1940. E IL, POTTER 2202,92@

AUTOMOBILE HEATING STRUCTURE Filed Dec. 2, 193s s sheets-sheet s Patented June 4, 1940 UNITEDv STATES AUTOMOBILE HEATING STRUCTURE Elbert L. Potter, Buffalo, N. Y., assignor to Houde Engineering Corporation, Buffalo, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 2, 1938, Serial No. 243,515

6 Claims. (Cl. 237-123) This invention relates to heating structure and arrangement adapted particularly for the heating of vehicles such as automobiles. The invention relates particularly to that type of heater in- 5 stallation in which exhaust gas, hot water, orA

combustion mixture is circulated through a heatver core through which air to be heated is blown by a fan for delivery to the interior of the vehicle.'

An important object of the invention is to procates'the floor of the car.

ture shown comprises the guide beams I and' II and the diagonal cross beams I2, while I3 indi- The front seat S has a suitable supporting base such as I4.

The casing or container shell I5 preferably is of sheet metal and comprises front and rear vertical walls I6 and I'I respectively, an outer side wall I8, a bottom wall I9, and the inner side wall 20, the side wall 20 diverging from the bottom lo vide an installation arrangement in which the .wall I9 to form an outlet passageway 2|. The 10 heater core is readily detachably insertable along floor I3 of the vehicle is cut out to leave an openguideways into a shell or casing which is inserted ing 22 through which the shell I5 may be exthrough a suitable opening in the car floor to be. tended, the shell walls at their upper edges havsuspended by the floor, with the core provided ing outwardly deflected flanges 23 for engaging with an inlet and outlet for theheat producing with the top of the floor so as to removably sus- 15 medium, and the air propulsion fan located withpend the casing below the floor. The opening 22 in the casing. .extends laterally outwardly from the juncture A further important object is to suspend the portion of the chassis cross beams I2, andthe inheater unit, comprising the casing, core, and fan, ner side wall is deflected to follow the outline from the vehicle floor preferably-below the front l of the opening 22 where it parallels the beams I2, 20 seat thereof, with the heated air propelled by the as clearly shown on Figure 2. fan delivered from below the front seat along the Intermediate vertically extending portions 24 floor forwardly'of and rearwardly of the seat, so and 25 of the front and rear walls I6 and Il of that adequate and uniformA heating of the vehicle the shell I5 are deflected inwardly and have their will result. inner walls cut away to leave opposed vertical 25 A further important object is to provide im- DaSSageWayS 26 and 27, With the ODDOSed edges proved arrangement for assuring clean and fresh 28 along the sides of the passageway 26 forming air supply to the fan or blower to be blown thereguides, and the edge portion 29 alongside of the by through the-heated core for delivery to the passageway 21 forming similar guides, the pas- 30 vehicle, the air inlet being preferably from above sageways and guides serving to receive the heat- 30 the running board through the sill of the front er core structure C, door and then through the lower portion of the The core structure comprises an inner front front door and through a guide channel to the header 30 and an inner rear header 3|, between faninthe casing suspended below'the floor. and through which extend the filles 32. The

The invention also involves other features of headers are of sheet metal and along their sides 3'5 construction and arrangement, and all the varand bottoms are deflected and formed to provide ious features are shown incorporated in the strucfront and rear side grooves 33 and 34 respectively ture disclosed on the accompanying drawings, in and front and rear bottom grooves 35 and 36 rewhioh drawings; spectively, and if the core is to be reversible in the Figure 1 is a side elevation more or less diashell I5, the headers may also be provided with ,m grammatically showing part of a vehicle chassis upper guide grooves 3l and 38 respectively. By structure, the front seat, and the arrangement 0f means of these guide grooves, the core structure the heater assembly below the cary floor; may be slipped vertically into the passages 26 and Figure 2 iS an enlarged plan View 0f Dari? 0f the 21 of the deflected wall portions 24 and 25, with chassis structure and oor and showing the aI'- the side grooves33 of the front inner header 30 .15 rangement of the heater assembly and the conreceiving the guide edges 28, and the side grooves nection of thel heating medium therewith; 34 of the rear inner header 3I receiving the guide Figure 3 is an enlarged section on plane edges 29, and with the bottom grooves of the III- III of Figure 2; headers receiving the bottom edges of the pas- Figure 4 is an enlarged side elevation partly in sageways 26 and 21 respectively, as clearly shown 50 section of the heater core structure; and in Figure 5. The core structure may thus be Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view to readily slid into place in the casing or removed more clearly show the application of the heater therefrom. core in supporting casing. When the core is in place in the casing, the

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, the chassis struc- Outlet passageway 2l will be at the inner side 55 thereof for outow of heated air, and the fan or blower space 39 will be at the outer side'thereoi, and in this blower space is a fan or blower 40 which may be-secured in any suitable manner to the outer side wall I8 of the casing I5 so as to blow air to be heated through the spaces between the ilues 32 of the core. As best shown in Figure 3, the ilues arev slightly inclined so that' the air blown therebetween by the blower will be directed diagonally upwardly into the outlet 2 I for delivery to the car body.

The ilues are of oblong shape, as best shown in Figure 3, and, in order to more uniformly distribute the air ow therebetween, corrugated strips 4I are interposed between the ues providing passageways and walls for guiding and distributing the air ilow.

The core structure has front and rear outer headers 42 and 43, which receive the respective ends of the ilues. The front outer header 42 has an inlet duct i4 to its upper portion, and an outlet duct 45 extending from its lower portion, a dividing or baille wall 4B dividing the interior of the header into inlet and outlet spaces 41 and 48. With this arrangement the incoming heating medium flows from the upper space 41 through the flues connected with this upper space, the heating medium then flowing from the rear end of these flues through the rear header 43 and then forwardly through the ilues communicating with the lower space 48 of the outer header and from there out through the outlet 45.

Referring to Figure 2, the duct $9 leads from the exhaust manifold of the vehicle engine, and 50 indicates the muler structure. Between the exhaust duct 49 and the muffler I have shown a double T fitting 5I- inserted whose outlet nipple 52 is connected by a duct 53 with the inlet 44 of the core structure and whose other nipple 5ft is connected by a duct 55 with the outlet 45 of the core structure. Between the nipples of the fitting a valve 56 is interposed. The valve shown is mounted on a shaft 51 from which extends a lever 58 which, through a suitable operating train, may be adjusted from within the vehicle by the driver. As shown on Figure 2, the valve is set to shut offdirect connection between the eX- haust conduit 49 and the mufller and to force the exhaust gas from the engine to ow through the core structure C before reaching the muer. When the valve is set at right angles to the posi- 'ticn shown in-Figure 2, there will be direct connection from the exhaust conduit to the muiier and only very little gas may flow through the core structure.

It is obvious that, instead of using the engine exhaust as the heating medium, the water of the engine cooling system could be used as the heating medium and its flow through the core structure controlled by suitable valve mechanism. Other heat producing mediums could also be used and the application and flow through the core vstructure properly regulated by suitable valve means. l

To make Way for the outer headers which form part of the core structure, additionalopenings 59 and 60 may be provided in the vehicle oor I3, and after insertion of the core structure into the c'asing I5, these openings may be closed by covers 6| and 62 respectively.

In order to provide a fresh and clean air supply to the fan chamber 39, a deflector wall or hood 63 is shown provided terminating at its inner end over the fan compartment and having its open outer end provided with a sponge rubber abutment 64 to be engaged by the vehicle door 66 when the door is closed. In the bottom wall of the door sill 66 air inlet passages 6'I are provided, this bottom wall being above the running board 68 and inclined away therefrom. The outer Wall of the sill is provided with air passages 69 communicating with air passages 10 in the inner panel of the door, and this panel has the air passages 1I communicating with the deflector wall or hood 63 so that the air flow to the fan or blower chamber is more or less tortuous, and any dust particles will be separated from the air before reaching the blower compartment.

If desired, a container 12 may be placed within the door to span the air passages 10 and 1I and lled with suitable air filtering material 13, so that the air will be filtered before delivery to the blower compartment. The air supply which is taken in from the side of the vehicle over the running board is blown through the core struc'- ture around the heating ues and through the outlet passage 2I into the car body below the front seat structure to be distributed forwardly and rearwardly to the front and rear portions of the car body for uniform heating thereof. As shown in Figure 1, the front and rear walls of the seat base I4 may be provided with openings 14 covered by grilles 15 through which the heated air flows.

I thus provide a simple, economically manufactured, and eicient heating structure comprising a casing with a heating core and blower therein which may be conveniently inserted through a hole in the vehicle iloor to be suspended by the iloor below floor level for connection of the heater core for reception of the heating or heat forming medium under control of suitable valve mechanism, the arrangement being such that clean air is drawn in and blown through the heater core for delivery of the heated air under the front seat and uniform distribution forwardly and rearwardly into the car body. By adjustment of the valving mechanism, all or part of the heating medium may be available for heating purposes, or the heater may be disconnected from the heating medium, and by means of suitable electric controlling means (not shown) the operation of the blower motor can be controlled and regulated. If the 'heater is not delivering heat, cool air may be blown into the vehicle and the temperature of the air within the vehicle may thus be regulated as desired.

ing having vertical guideways, a heater core` slideable downwardly into said casing on said guideways, a blower within said casing at one side of said core for blowing air therethrough, and an outlet passageway for the heated air terminating at floor level below the front seat of the car for distribution of heated air forwardly and rearwardly into the automobile body.

2. An automotive vehicle heater structure comy hole in the vehicle door to depend therefrom,

said casing having vertical guideways, a core structure engageable in said guideways to be guided thereby vertically into said casing, said core having nues and header structure adapted for connection for the circulation of heat producing medium through the flues, a blower within said casing at one side of said core for blowing air through said core between said flues, said casing at the other side of said core providing a discharge outlet for the heated air into the vehicle body, and means for delivering air from outside of the vehicle intothe top of said casing and to said blower.

3. In an automotive vehicle, a heater structure therefor comprising a box-like casingsuspended by the vehicle oor below the frqnt seat thereof and having inlet and outlet spaces communicating with the vehicle bodyabove the floor level, a heater core extending vertically in said casing between said inlet and outlet spaces, said core having flues adapted for connection for circulation therethrough of heat producing medium, a blower within said inlet space for blowing air around said ues into said outlet space for delivery into the car body, the door of the vehicle adjacent to the front seat having a passageway therethrough and the door sill having a vpassageway therethrough to the exterior of the vehicle and communicating with the door passageway, and means forming a passageway from the door passageway to said inlet space, said Y .passageways being effctive when the door is closed tr` supply air from the exterior of the vehicle to said inlet space to the blower therein.

4. In an automotive vehicle, a heater structure therefor 'comprising a box-like casing suspended by the vehicle iloor below the front seat thereof and having inlet and outlet spaces communicating with the vehicle body above the iloorlevel', a heater core -extending vertically in said casing between said inlet an'd outlet spaces, said core having ues adapted for connection for circulation therethrough of heat producing medium, a blower within said inlet space for blowing air around said ues into said outlet space for delivery into the car body, the door of the vehicle adjacent to the the door sill having a passageway therethrough to the exterior vof the vehicle and communicating with the door passageway, means forming a passageway from the door passageway to said inlet space,l said passageways being effective when.the door is closed to supply air from the exterior of the vehicle to said inlet space to the blower therein, and means within the door for filtering the air before delivery to said blower space.

5. An automobile heating assembly comprising a box-like casing open at its upper end adapted to be inserted downwardly through a hole `in an automobile floor to be suspended in position below the floor, a heater core having inlet and outlet nipples extending laterally from one end thereof,

said casing having vertical guideways along opposite side walls and being shaped for sliding engagement of said heater corealong said guideways for ready insertion of said core downwardly `into said lcasing or removal therefrom through its open upper end, said heater core when within said casing dividing said casing into an air receiving space and aheated air delivery space communicating withv the automobile interior, a blower within said. air inlet space for blowing heatedair from said heater core into said outlet space and into the automobile interior, said heater core nipples being adapted to receive heating medium conducting pipes. L

6. In an automotive vehicle, a heater assembly ltherefor comprising a box-like casing entirely the casing with theinterior of the vehicle. and a blower in the air inlet space for blowing heated air from the heater core through the air outlet space and into the vehicle body. said casing having guideways thereon on which said hter core may be readily slid into the casing or withdrawn therefrom through the casing open end.

lELBERT L. POTTER. 

